Scot Lachlan Macquarie hailed as the Father of Australia.. but is unheard of in his native country

14:19, 4 Mar 2014

Updated 11:34, 26 Jan 2015

ByScotland Now

DESPITE being known as the man who helped turn Australia into the land of opportunity, no one in his native Scotland had heard of the former British army officer.

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Lachlan Macquarie

IN Australia, he was known as the man who helped transform the country from a penal colony to a land of opportunity.

But despite his sterling reputation Down Under, in his native Scotland, little is known about Lachlan Macquarie, the British army officer who served as the last autocratic governor of New South Wales.

Last year, a major documentary narrated by David Tennant lifted the lid on this national hero of Australia.

Clive Russell starred as Macquarie while Julie Wilson-Nimmo played his wife, Elizabeth.

Les Wilson, who was the director behind the documentary, said: "Last year was the 200th anniversary of Macquarie arriving in Australia.

"There was a massive celebration, with projections of his portrait on to buildings, parties and music, but in Scotland there was nothing.

"This year is the 250th anniversary of his birth, and again there is nothing at all happening in Scotland - apart from this film - which is extraordinary."

Born into poverty on Ulva, a small island off Mull, in 1761, Macquarie joined the army aged just 15. He fought in the American War of Independence and against Napoleon in Egypt.

He then spent 20 years serving in India, an experience that was to shape the beliefs that informed his later actions.

Wilson said: "When he was in India, he was in touch with a lot of people who were better educated than him and who had absorbed the influence of the Scottish Enlightenment. Because of that, they were very progressive people.

"He wasn't hugely educated but he was a very practical military officer and had that ability to just get on with it."

While in India, he married heiress Jane Jarvis, only for his young wife to die of tuberculosis.

He used his inheritance to buy an estate on the Isle of Mull, which he named Jarvisfield after her, and dreamed of retiring there after making his fortune in India.

It was on a return visit to Mull that he met his second wife, Elizabeth Campbell. She was to have a major influence on him during his next posting.

The decision to send Macquarie to Australia to become governor of the chaotic New South Wales penal colony was unexpected.

For an ambitious officer like him, being posted to the other side of the For an ambitious officer like him, being posted to the other side of the world to deal with British convicts who had been forcibly exiled seemed like a backward step.

Robin Walsh, of Macquarie University in Sydney, said: "His instructions were quite clear when he was sent out here with 800 men - he was essentially to restore order.

"I think the Government wanted to ensure that whatever force was sent out there could deal with whatever the circumstances on the ground were at that point in time, so Macquarie came with absolute authority."

When he arrived in 1810, that authority allowed Macquarie to quickly start implementing his own liberal ideas about how the colony should be run.

The most radical of these was that convicts who served their sentence and showed themselves to be of good character should be fully redeemed in the eyes of society, leaving them free to make a living.

Professor Grace Karskens, of the University of New South Wales, said: "He said that once a man or woman had finished their sentence they should be accepted back into society at the level at which they'd left.

"There was going to be none of this ongoing prejudice against them."

Known as emancipists, these former convicts were given the chance to put their talents to good use, which allowed both them and New South Wales to prosper.

Against the wishes of his superiors in London, Macquarie also embarked upon a massive building programme, often with the help of his wife, who had a keen interest in architecture.

During his time as governor, he was responsible for the construction of 265 buildings, ranging from schools and hospitals to army barracks.

The layout of modern central Sydney is based upon a street plan established by Macquarie, and he also began establishing new towns in the surrounding area.

He introduced the colony's first currency and sanctioned the creation of its first bank.

However, the development of the colony was not without its problems.

Macquarie ordered military action against the Aborigines because of continuing attacks on settlers. That led to the infamous Appin Massacre in 1816, where at least 14 defenceless Aborigines were hunted down and slaughtered by British troops.

Walsh said: "There are a number of events in 1816 that show Macquarie starting to lose his focus."

BBC Scotland/Caledonia TV

Clive Russell as Macquarie and Julie Wilson Nimmo as Elizabeth in the BBC documentary

Free settlers who had come to the colony of their own accord - known as "exclusives" - complained about his attitude towards the emancipists. And Macquarie was also losing allies in London, who were worried that the penal colony would seem like an easy option for criminals.

Karskens said: "The exclusives who complained about him all the time were on solid ground because they knew that back in England this would cause controversy.

"The idea that lowly convicts could rise and be accepted in polite society in that way was just untenable."

Having to defend himself against growing numbers of opponents eventually took a toll on Macquarie's health, and he resigned as governor in 1821.

Returning to Scotland without a pension, to an estate which had failed to prosper, his dream of retiring as a rich laird seemed far away.

Karskens added: "I think we need to understand Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie on their own terms as human beings because that's what makes this story gripping and tragic and interesting and astounding.

"The real story is one of enormous ambition and huge tragedy because in the end he was vilified for all the things that he actually did achieve that we now recognise as his great legacy."

Macquarie did enjoy one very last turn of fate as his London paymasters came to appreciate all he'd done to transform the New South Wales penal colony from a money-losing backwater to a burgeoning new country.

He was granted a pension and had an audience with King George IV in 1824 but fell ill two days later and died soon after.

His reputation continued to grow after his death, with Australians increasingly viewing him as the father of the nation.

Throughout the country, streets, rivers, lakes, parks, harbours, shopping centres, a university, a hospital and even an investment bank now carry his name.

His grave on Mull, along with that of Elizabeth and their son Lachlan, is now maintained by the National Trust of Australia.

Wilson said: "He was a man of his time. He was a big, good-looking, imposing guy, and I think in a way he was a Scotsman on the make.

"He came from a very poor background and he rose to become a major figure in the British Empire.

"Macquarie had done what he set out to do, which was to put the colony on a much more substantial footing and to help it prosper.

"He's one of ours who is celebrated at the other end of the world, and we just ignore him. It's shameful."